finally!
Originally uploaded by wizzer2801.

Snow!

It took a little work but this is how it should be! Bikers Rule!
Originally uploaded by wizzer2801.

It took a little work but this is how it should be! Bikers Rule!

You know how when you first start out in a relationship, you see everything that is wonderful about the other person? You end up spending all night talking with them and then the next morning when you wake up you remember that you were talking all night with them, but can’t really remember what you were talking about? Not that it matters much because what ever it was, it was wonderful. It’s kind of like when you just get a brand new puppy. They are so cute! The wiggle around and make cute faces, you make cutsie faces right back at them while making goo goo eyes and fuzzy wuzzy talk. (Of Course, that’s what a less than manly person would do, not me of course. Of course I wouldn’t do something like that. Did I say Of course too many times?) This is the initial phase of the relationship. Everything is puppies and kittens.

Then, before you know it, the ensign taps a control on the panel and you ware 3.7 light years from there diving into the next phase. Puppies grow out of the cute fluffy stage and start peeing on the couch and eating your good shoe. You start to notice the little things that may start to grate, and of course you, no doubt, start doing tons of little things that grate right back. This is probably one of the most important phases. The trial and error phase. It’s called that because you will no doubt try everything you can to not make any errors. The reason this phase is the most important is because this is what sets you up for that all important stage, the comfort stage. But we aren’t there yet. (cue rewind sfx)

During that first phase, all of your charm comes out and you use your natural instinct to court your mate. You say all the right things, you glace over to the dresser and all those miniature figurines of ducks all seem to be sitting daintily in a row. (Figuratively speaking) The second phase, you suddenly have it thrust upon you that you are in fact (dun dun dun dun) a human being. In learning so, your body suddenly begins to sweat, body odor becomes apparent, and instantly you have about 15 blemishes on your face that you could swear weren’t there before. But this, as much as we would like to believe, is who you really are. As much as you would like to sit in puppy stage, you advance into that awkward stage where you limbs don’t do what they are supposed to and you trip around a lot.

Even as an older puppy though, it’s still fun to get pet, you still enjoy lying on the sofa with someone you care about (even if they swat your nose again). And growing into new stages means new things. You gain a new respect for the other person because of the subtle intricacies that make them unique. You find that, because you spent all the time with them during the first phase, when they aren’t there involved in your life, you miss them. There is still a learning that goes on of course, but it’s a deeper learning. The first phase is for getting to know someone. The second phase is for learning to love someone. Yeah, it may be awkward at times, but think of all the things you have experienced in your life that was awkward. When you look back on them and how they affected your life, you realize that, you are who you are because of them. (Ok so maybe that drunken incident at my sisters wedding could have been forgotten, but that’s beside the point) The second stage is important because this is where you learn the bond that initially brought the relationship together in the first place.

Sometimes you get through the first stage slip through the second with out another glance, jumping into the comfort stage without looking. Then you realize that you never really got to know the person you are so comfortable with. They realize it too and you learn to just walk away. Other times you jump out of the first phase and hit that second stage like a ton of bricks. No matter how hard you try to make things work, they just don’t work out. Sometimes, though, just sometimes, you venture into that second stage willing and ready to learn and love and grow, and that is what makes the whole relationship worth while. The fact that even after the first stage is done, you get a random memory or thought, and it makes you smile. You think of how you would be without that someone, and it makes you sad. You wish time would fly by so that you could see them again, then you wish time would stand still so you can spend as much as possible with them. Puppies and kittens don’t stay that way forever. They grow up, and become dogs and cats. And in doing so, they become closer to you, and you never want to let them go.

That’s what love is….

Right?

Best title ever! So we made it through the holidays! Finally. Now we are on our way through 2007. With any luck, 2007 will be a much brighter and shinier year than 2006. Not to say that 2006 was bad at all. I always hope that every year is better than the last year. As I stated in one of the earlier posts, a lot of things happened. I am only going to touch on each one as writing a full dissertation would be a tad much. So, to expand on a few of the before mentioned things:

Emily came to visit over the holidays, sort of. It was before Christmas so we had our Christmas early. We also had to divide up some time as it was also her brothers Graduation ceremony from Marine Corps OCS (Officer Candidate School). He is a full up 2LT now so a huge congrats out to him! I also got some time to spend with her family and visit so that was good as well. Emily was kind enough to accompany me to my company Christmas party where she got to meet a bunch of people from my work. This is a good thing as they can now put a face to all of the stories. That Sunday we woke up and had our own little Christmas where she gave me a very cool scarf that she knitted herself! She also got me a new Jack Skellington shirt and a super cool Nightmare before Christmas Poker Kit. I got her a new locket and a camera so she can take pictures down in FL and send them.

Our actual Christmas was somewhat un-eventful. Andrew had gotten grounded right before so it kind of set us up for a less than happy mood, but I gave him a minor reprieve during Christmas day. He got a nifty new remote control helicopter, and we both got some games for the Xbox 360. Later on in the day we went to see “Night at the Museum”. It was a cute movie and didn’t get too obnoxious. After Christmas day, he went back to being grounded and I went back to being the bad guy. Aren’t teenagers fun?

Speaking of the Xbox 360. See, it was going to be a Christmas present. Really it was. I bought it a month early because I wanted to make sure we could get one, what with the console war being what it was. Apparently Microsoft made sure there were enough 360’s around to back fill the people who couldn’t find PS3’s and Wii’s. As much as I think it would be cool to get a Wii (and they do look cool), there aren’t that many games or accessories out for them yet and the market is still young. The 360 is seasoned and broken in. Not to mention the capabilities! Videos, Demos, Games, Accessories, Camera Conferencing! Needless to say, I caved in and cracked it open before Christmas. Most of the games (nearly all) stayed wrapped so I was stuck playing demos and using the media features. With the Zune software it can stream MP3’s and Videos to the TV. Anyways, if you want to find me, add gamer-tag Wizzer2801.

New years was not too bad. Over the weekend we watched all of the Evil Dead movies. That’s a right of passage every father should do for their son. Andrew was a little scared of the first movie, but once the second one kicked in, he was all about Ash. We spent the evening of New Years upstairs with Don and Jen. Andrew won at “Simpsons Life” and we proved that we all were bad at Trivial Pursuit. The next morning we watched the Rose Parade so we can see one of the most amazing things ever. 200 troopers from the 501st Legion marching in the 2007 Rose Parade! All done under the guidance of one George Lucas. Mr. Lucas actually put out a call for all of the Legion to audition marching videos for selection of 200 troopers. He then flew everyone from all over the world and put them up for 7 days in LA. Millions of viewers got to see the 501st marching in all her glory! It was indeed a proud day for the 501st. And on that note I have to say to Albin, How does it feel to know that you have changed the world? Seriously! Not many people can say that they have done something in their lives that sparked that kind of change, but you have planted a seed that has grown and taken root, and that seed has had an impact across the globe.

Now here I am, back at work and back at the grind. Things are returning to normal with the holidays past. I am looking forward to January 12th. Andrew and I are flying down to Jacksonville to visit with Emily on her own turf! While I have been to Florida before, it’s only been to Disney World. From what I understand, that’s like it’s own little state inside FL so seeing some actual parts of the state will be fun. Not to mention I will get to see it with Emily! Did I mention the Emily part? So that should catch you up! Sorry for the winter break in posting, I’ll try and get back to a normal routine.

Iwo
Originally uploaded by wizzer2801.

One of the statues outside of Quantico. We visited there for Emily’s brothers graduation. Many of the families posed for pictures in front of it.

Many Many Many things to write about, not enough time as of late.

Emily came to visit! (YAY!)

Her Brother graduated from OCS!

It was GREAT fun!

Christmas!

Andrew got grounded!

I got an Xbox 360

I went a little overboard with said Xbox 360.

I am going to visit Emily in January.

Can I go home now?

There is a chance that I may expand on some of these things in the future.

A chance

Maybe.

No kidding, I did! As a special occasion for Lee’s visit we went out to a really really really nice Japanese restaurant. This was just the three of us, Doc, Me and Lee. We had a blast! I had close to 2 Carafes of Sake, along with the others. By the end of dinner, we were all kind of toasty. The dinner was amazing. I am not sure entirely what I ate, but I know there were assorted sushi as well as other things. I ate everything! Both of them were amazed. It wasn’t bad at all, but I think that’s party due to the quality of the place. Regardless, it was a great night!

So, I am sure that some of you are a tad curious about the whole Emily thing. I realize that some of it may be a bit sudden but remember, I don’t always write out everything in my blog. A lot of things in my life I leave out of print because it would adversely affect others or it’s just no ones business. For a while this was both cases when it came to Emily. I think it’s time to give a little bit of back story now though. So, without further ado, I give you the Emily history (as best remembered by me, and keep in mind, I have had a good quantity of alcohol since this began)

Sherman set the way back machine for 11 years ago. Welcome to Okinawa Japan. This was my first assignment fresh out of tech school for the Air Force. 21 years old and thrown to the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It took a while to get adjusted but before long I was able to find a good group of friends who were like minded and shared many of the same interests. One of those interests was gaming of course. We had the best gaming group on the face of the planet there and I have never been able to find a group that could match it. One of the members of that group happened to be a (very) young girl who was the daughter of one of the local Chaplains. Fresh eyes and a mounting curiosity and she was surrounded by a bunch of gamer geeks. What could go wrong? Absolutely nothing of course! (Dirty minds the bunch of you!). She had an amazing personality and it wasn’t just confined to gaming or geek-dom. We spent some time together out around the island and considered each other as very good friends. Given that we were both quite young still, any encounter we had was fleeting. I left the island in 1998 and it would be a long while until I saw her again.

Now flash forward to a little over 1 and ½ years ago. I get a random e-mail from this girl who had browsed into my website. Turns out she heard about my site when a friend of hers was looking for Doc. Of course I remember her and we talk off and on. She tells me about her current marriage and such, I tell her about what’s going on here. She really didn’t need all that much info though as she was hooked as a reader on the blog. So this continues through out the year. She made plans to go to DragonCon 05, but of course that would be the year that I was picking up Andrew and, sorry, he takes a tad more precedence than the con. Regardless, the friendship keeps up over the next year with e-mails. That is until a few months ago.

Lee and I finally convinced her to use a form of IM so that we would be able to chat more actively, even though our e-mails had picked up and become more frequent. If you recall, a few months ago was the point where things started to go downhill with Amy. As much as I tried to withdraw, my friends were there to help me out with support. Of course, Emily would be dating someone back in Jacksonville at the time so the thought hadn’t crossed my mind yet. She was still there to talk and helped me out a lot. How was I to know that the pendulum would swing both ways. Turns out she now was in the process of a break up as well. Given the shared pain, we commensurated together. That’s when it happened.

It had been a long time waiting, but for the first time since all those years ago, we were both single at the same time. Here is a girl that shares nearly all of the same interests as me. She is smart, beautiful, incredible personality, and the most surprising part, she likes me! (really, it’s a lot harder to find than you would think!) It’s amazing how much we think alike. You know how, in some relationships, two people would finish each others sentences? Well, take heart people, we aren’t doing that. No, we start each others sentences. Far too many times have we said “Damn, I was just going to say that!” (Very silly, yes I know)

So that brings me to the most important part. She makes me happy! I wake up in the morning and just the thought of her brings a smile to my face. During the day my mind will drift back to something she said and I will giggle. I count down the time till I see her again. Even Andrew has noticed a dramatic change in my mood (and a skip in my step). I know it sounds like a lot of this happened all of a sudden, but it really didn’t. A friendship grew over many years and a relationship grew out of that over the last few months.

That brings us to some of the difficulties. She lives in Florida. Granted, Jacksonville is not all that far away (just about as far as Nashville), it does mean that casual meet ups are a tad problematic. She has family and friends up here so she does tend to visit quite a bit, and travel to Jacksonville isn’t as expensive as one would think. We also have a lot going on in our lives that, while it doesn’t impede on the relationship, it does interfere with the whole getting together thing. This means that we get to talk……..A lot. Personally I think that part is great. We always have something to talk about and I really feel like it’s an important part of the relationship. Granted I miss the cuddling and such, but it makes the time we do spend together that much more special.

There you have it then. Friend for 11 years, good friend for over a year and a half, close confidant for the last 4-5 months, and girlfriend for the last month. She really is one of the most special people in my life and as we are now, it would be hard without her in it.

Sorry if there has been too much lovey dovey stuff in the latest few posts, but it’s really how I have been feeling as of late. Lighter than air, walking on clouds, song in my heart, and smile on my face. I will try and bring the blog back down from the clouds over the next few posts.

Until next time, CAIO!

I have great friends, a loving girl friend, a wonderful (at times) son, and of course my health. It’s weekends like this last one that really make you realize all that you have. Thanksgiving weekend is always a long one, but this one seems a little longer than usual. As you know, the plan was to go down to Lee’s place as per usual (turns out for the last like 4 years). This year there was going to be a special guest along for dinner. No, not Andrew (though he has made that trip before), This time Emily and I would be spending our first Thanksgiving together. Of course we both had to make an extremely long drive in order to do this. She was the lucky one and got to start out a little early. You see, I had to finish up with work, then drop off Andrew at the airport. Sounds easy right? It would be if it weren’t for the fact that I had to drop him off at BWI which is (normally) 45 min away. In the afternoon of the day before Thanksgiving. So as you can imagine, I spent the next 3 hours driving to and from the airport. I finally started my drive to TN at around 7pm on Wednesday evening.

It was a very long long long drive. I did get the chance to do a burn in on my Zune though. I listened to it the whole way there. I also had a few good phone calls along the way to keep me awake. That and a TON of caffeine. It did get to the point where I would zone out and focus only on driving. Not to the point of being unsafe, but to the point where I was ready to get there. Thankfully what was waiting for me upon arrival was more than worth the journey. I got in at around 4:30am TN time and there was a beautiful set of arms waiting for me to dive into them. We managed to get a little bit of sleep (the caffeine leftovers were still racing through the system). I think we woke up around 9am.

Thursday was very lackadaisical. We were all pretty tired to begin with so we just wanted to relax and take things easy. We watched a few shows on TV, the parade, some Eureka, and a few Episodes of the Addams Family (TV series). We also squeezed in the Addams Family Values for reference. The argument continues by the way. Lee took us for a nice drive around Franklin to show us some of the houses in the area and how nice the town was. Yeah, he still keeps hinting. Since we were all pretty tired, we ended up turning in early as well.

Black Friday. Missy had to work pretty early so it was just us for a while. Emily had this great idea to get up and take a run. Well, it was a great idea in theory. Being somewhat sick with a minor cold, it quickly became apparent how little air my lungs could process on a cold morning. She finished up the run but I had to bow out a little early. We went back and cleaned up and chilled for a while. Em and I ventured out to the Comic book store to see if they had anything good (they rarely do). She picked up a few books that caught her eye. When we got back, Lee wanted to take us all out to do some sight seeing. Top of the list was the Parthenon. On the way there we stopped off near Lee’s work to visit with Emily’s old high school friend Shelley. Apparently the Cheesecake Factory is pretty darn busy on black Friday. Who Knew! We got to the Parthenon only to find out that it was closed. It was ok though, we had a great little picnic in the park and got some great pictures as well. Apparently Nashville has an over abundance of squirrels as well, and they were all around our table!

When we got back we had a little bit of time to sit and relax before missy got home. There is something to be said for just sitting in the same room with someone you love and enjoying their presence. Just knowing the person is there is somewhat comforting. Anyways, I digress. Missy came home and brought with her some sandwiches, which made for a nice easy dinner while we watched “Over the Hedge” with the kids. Once the kids headed to bed it was Adult time! Which meant that the drinks came out and we watched “40 Year Old Virgin”. (With frequent pauses for refills and stories). I have to say that the movie was a little eerie to watch when the guys apartment looks just like mine. (I’ve heard). Saturday was going to be a big day for outings so after the movie we called it a night. Well I would say that except Emily and I sat downstairs and talked for what seemed like minuets but turned out to be hours. Personally, I loved every second of it.

Needless to say, we slept in a bit on Saturday morning. This was ok as Missy was feeling under the weather. We thought it was only a hangover, turns out it was a tad worse than that. You see, when we got there on Thursday, Shiloh (the youngest) was a little sick. What we thought was just a child’s sniffles turned out to be a bit more. Missy ended up being sick through most of the day. This gave Emily and I the chance to get away just the two of us. We went to downtown Franklin and walked around Main Street. We visited many of the different little shops and even got the chance to walk around one of the art galleries there. We stopped in to the local Irish pub and had a good Irish lunch, where we stared into each other’s eyes for most of it. It was such a nice afternoon out, the type where you don’t want it to ever end. Sadly, it had to. We headed back to hear the word on what we were doing for the evening.

Missy was apparently still sick, and it got worse. Now Torri was sick as well. Lee canceled the baby sitter and we made arrangements to meet up with Emily’s friend Shelley. We decided on a place called Amerigos. We had some time to kill so we sat and played some cards. Emily taught me a new game called Egyptian War. Apparently I am better than she thought at it. (: We had a nice dinner with Shelly and got to talk about all sorts of old times. About halfway through dinner I got a txt message from lee with the “I think I got it now”. This was a very very bad sign. When we got back to the house he was feeling pretty bad. Missy had started to recover and came down to chat but in the middle of it Lee made the motion to clear a path. This was the point where I figured we should head downstairs. Em and I had planned to curl up and watch “Love Actually” on the Mac. If only we had gotten that far. As soon as she laid down, she started feeling queasy. I will keep the details short and say the rest of the night was a real test of our closeness.

So the count came out at Shiloh, Missy, Torri, Lee, and Emily all getting sick. At this point, Damon and I remained un-effected. We started Sunday off pretty slow as you can imagine. We didn’t it the road until around 11am (VA/FL time). The drive was long and painful. I didn’t hit near as much traffic as I thought I would have, but Emily had some rough spots in South Atlanta. Because of this we both got home at around the same time. Of course, this was around 11pm! We both just crashed out for the evening. At least, I had thought that it would be the end of my evening.

About 5am it hit me. Apparently when I am driving I put myself in a sort of sickness stasis where I can focus on driving and let my body deal with things later on. It was now later on. The queasiness set in and I knew what was coming. I jumped on the opportunity and medicated up with some Pepto to stop my stomach from doing what it really wanted to do. Unfortunately, this didn’t make it all better, it just calmed the storm. Needless to say, I have now spent the rest of the last two days at home either on the couch or laying in bed. Oh, and I heard that later on Sunday evening Damon caught the bug as well. Everyone in the house got it. Ugh.

So when I say I am thankful for my health, I really mean it!

The past few months have been a really interesting time. Bouncing around mentally and emotionally, it’s been quite the ride. One voice in the darkness has really shown through and been there to comfort and advice. One ear there to hear the good and the bad. Through all of this a bond has been re-created, a light re-ignited. This is what led up to the infamous date from last weekend. I was so bloody nervous over that too. Here is Emily, a stunning young woman who is bright, witty, beautiful, and intelligent. Then there is me. Not to say that I am a slouch or anything but you know what they say, you are you own harshest critic. What was strange about it was that Emily and I have known each other for years. She was a good friend out in Okinawa (possibly more, but I had a lot of alcohol back then [wink]). Then we both kind of went different ways. It wasn’t until recently that we had the chance to re-unite as friends. I was really glad that this happened. It’s amazing to see the different paths that both of us had taken.

Now, recently both of us had gone through relationship pitfalls, and here we were at an interesting cross road. Both of us suddenly single and available. Why not give something a chance that never had the chance before. So I asked her out, and I am really glad I did. I think we learned a lot more about each other during the whole process of the date build up, and that weekend. It was amazing how much we had in common, and with the differences, it made conversations all the more interesting. She has incredible views on so many different things. Even now, after the weekend is over, I can’t help but think of her and smile. (Is that silly?)

So, that brings us to the quiz. Emily and her friend Annie (yes I mentioned you by name!) decided that they apparently didn’t know enough about me, so they devised a quiz derived from many different sources, including some questions they threw in on their own. I told her that what ever she asked me, she has to answer as well. So we both sat up the other nights and answered all of the questions, then sent the answers without ever looking at the others sheet. Needless to say, I was floored. Some of the answers I knew, or felt right about, some I did not and was pleasantly surprised about. Then there are the answers that were mind blowing-ly identical to mine. I don’t know that I have ever had so much in common with someone while still having enough differences to add spice to the relationship.

Yup, I said relationship. It’s official, we are a couple! Latest plans are to meet up at Lee’s place in about a week for Thanksgiving. You know I have been at Lee’s for thanksgiving for about 4 years now! I am truly thankful!

Below is the list of questions. If you really want to know the answers, you will have to e-mail me.

What are you good at?

What is your favorite food?

What is your favorite TV show?

What is your favorite book?

What makes you laugh?

Name your favorite band

What is your favorite song?

What is your favorite movie?

What is your favorite subject at school?

Who do you admire? Why?

Why are we here?

Is there a God?

What do you want to be?

How will we find happiness?

Are you intelligent? Why have you given this answer?

Do you want to get married?

Do you want children?

Do you want pets?

Favorite animal?

Pets you don’t like?

Do you support embryonic stem cell research??

What do you think of the tests on Human cloning?

Do you believe in reincarnation?

How many siblings do you have? Names? Ages?

What do you like best about your job?

Least favorite thing about your job?

What is your dream job?

What do you consider to be your best feature?

What is your worst feature?

What was your favorite subject in school?

What scares you?

Favorite foods:

Foods you hate:

What is one of your first childhood memories?

Favorite memory?

Time that made you really sad?

Favorite smells?

Favorite actor/actress?

Favorite thing to do on the weekend?

Beach or mountains?

Lake or Ocean?

Are you allergic to anything?

Do you like roller coasters?

If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be? Why?

Do you type with your fingers on the right keys or “hunt and peck?”

What is your dream car?

What is the high point of your week at work? Why?

What is something that you’re really looking forward to doing soon (outside of work)?

How do you plan to do it?

Who is a person who’s made a difference in your life?

How have they made a difference?

What’s a way you make a difference in someone else’s life?

What’s one of your favorite places to be? Why?

If you won two free tickets what would you like them to be for?

What is a gift you would like to find waiting at home for you today?

Do you believe in Monogamy?

What do you consider to be unforgivable?

In a room full of kids what advice would you most like to give them? Why?

In a room full of parents what advice would you most like to give them? Why?

Describe one of your most prized possessions. Why is this important to you?

If you could take a trip anywhere, right now, where would it be?

Name a place you’ve never been but would like to see.

Politically speaking are you Liberal? Conservative? Republican? Democrat?

What do you want your life to be like 10 years from now?

Would you ever participate in a reality show?

What is the best thing that has ever happened to you?